The Last Page
by Der Blaue Wolf
Summary: "Think of life as a book, it's all written down before you, ready for you to go through, but you don't know what's going to happen until the last page. This world is what happens when the last page in the book of humanity is reached." DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

The Last Page, Ch1

Miku hid behind a wall as a hail of bullets flew past her through the gap where a shell had blown a chunk out of the wall which was now Miku's shield. When the bullets let up for a moment, she detached a grenade from her belt, and threw it through the gap. When it exploded, dust flew up and through the gap, along with an arm, blood splattering on the ground as it dripped from the severed limb.

Miku pulled out a mirror, and used it to see round the corner, back still to the wall, holding in out in front of her, slightly to her left, the direction of the break in the wall. What she saw was a bloody mess. Calmly, she replaced the mirror in a pocket, and stepped round the corner, then started to run a little, avoiding the mangled limbs. She clutched her assault rifle to her chest, as she reached another corner, and, kneeling low to the floor, put her head round.

Seeing that the way was still clear, Miku turned the corner, and continued jogging until she came in sight of a building, one of the few still standing around her. She slowed as she neared it, and went to the door, a solid metal one, which slid open and shut. She knocked twice, and a voice called from within, "Who is it?"

"Miku," she called back.

The door opened, and revealed a brunette girl, who looked relieved, "Miku, thank goodness your okay. Are you okay?"

Miku smiled as she stepped into the hallway which presented itself, and the door was slid shut behind her, "I'm fine Meiko. Everybody else make it?"

The brunette nodded, "Len took a shot in the arm, but Rin's looking after him."

"Good..." Miku stepped along the hallway, and up a flight of stairs. Meiko just sat herself on a chair by the door, her holstered pair of pistols knocking against the chair as she sat.

Miku reached the first floor, and went past a couple of doors, before reaching a particular one, and knocking. The door opened to reveal a girl, barely 14, with blond hair and the biggest blue eyes imaginable. "Miku-nee!" the girl said with surprise in her voice.

"Hi Rin, Len," she replied, first to the girl in front of her, and then to the girl's brother, who was sat on a bed in the room, a bandage on his left arm. "How's the arm?"

Len, the blonde boy with a ponytail, who looked a little too much like his twin sister, smiled, "Not bad, Miku-onee-san, but I don't think I'll be using it for a while."

Miku nodded, "Well make sure you get some rest. And you too Rin, don't overwork yourself looking after him."

Rin nodded, "Of course Miku-nee."

Miku smiled gently at the pair, "Well, I've got to go talk to Kaito-san now, see you later."

The twins both nodded simultaneously.

"See you later Miku-nee."

"Take care Miku-onee-san."

Miku left the room, closing the door behind her, and gave a light laugh. Even at the end of the world, those twins never failed to amuse. She walked along the corridor, and knocked on another door. This time, when it opened, something flung itself at her.

"Miku! Never do that again! Understand?" a voice said very quickly.

Miku looked down at the short girl who had grabbed her, seeing the blond hair of her cousin, "Neru-chan, don't worry so much."

Neru glared up, "I wasn't worried! Don't even think that!"

Miku laughed at her stubborn cousin, "Okay, okay. So you weren't worried after your cousin?"

Neru stuck her tongue out. A voice came from inside, "Akita-san, don't you have work to do?"

Neru sighed, "Yeah, yeah, I'll go." She left, looking dejected.

A blue-haired boy stepped out of the open door, and stood next to Miku, "That cousin of yours sure is an odd one Miku."

Miku nodded, "Give her credit Kaito, she's been pretty badly hit by all this, especially since the whole phone system was knocked out. You know she loved her phone, and always used it to communicate with all her friends around the country. She's just worried for them all."

Kaito sighed, "Well... I suppose. Now come in Miku."

The two stepped into the room, one of the larger rooms in the building. It was their planning room, from which the group worked out their movements through the destroyed city. Kaito sat at a table, and Miku drew up a chair facing him, and sat too.

"So... what did you find out?" Kaito asked.

"Those guys have a fair bit of food stored up, I'd say enough to last them about three months. Mostly canned stuff, they probably raided a few supermarkets to get it. Anyway, I managed to get into their storage room, and found all that food before they found me."

"A couple of them came in and put their guns to me. I managed to run for it, with the help of a grenade once I was out of the room. But when I was halfway back, I ran into some more of the bastards. I took care of them, just before they managed to make me into Swiss cheese."

Kaito looked thoughtful, "Anything else?"

Miku nodded, "Their food storage room is constantly under direct surveillance. I watched them for a while, and they seem to have three people in the room next door at all times pretty much. I only got in by crawling past the door when they weren't looking."

Kaito folded his hands, and nodded, "Okay then... so this food... you think it'd be worth us getting it?"

"Yes, it's not like they'd share it, and there's enough there for months."

Kaito stood, "Very well. I'll organise a party to break in tomorrow. You'll be leading them, and setting off tomorrow evening. Okay Miku?"

"Sure." Miku stood too, "Now, if you'd excuse me, I have things to do."

Kaito nodded, and Miku turned on her heel, walking out of the room. When she was in the hall again, she walked to a flight of stairs, and walked up them. She went up two flights, then reached a door, which opened onto the roof.

She stepped out, and walked along the flat roof to where it rose up, near the centre of the building. It rose into a small tower-like structure in the centre of the otherwise flat roof. The 'tower,' about twelve foot in height, had steps up one side of it, leading onto a flat area a few square yards in size, with brick pillars in each corner, holding up a dome, sheilding what was underneath from the sun. Miku climbed up to it, and looked at the scene there.

Sitting against the pillar to her right was a man, with long purple hair, who initially appeared to be asleep, but who, upon Miku's arrival, looked up at her and smiled. The long katana, contained in its sheath at his waist, knocked against the pillar as he stood to great her.

The other figure there, was a girl with long pink hair. She was knelt over a long gun, which stood on a tripod. Her eye was at the scope, but she raised her left hand in greeting when Miku stepped up onto the plateau of brick. The girl then lowered her hand to steady her gun, and then the index finger of her right hand squeezed the trigger.

A bullet, if you can call a piece of metal that large a bullet, fired from the gun. Miku looked into the distance as there was a faint explosion some way in the distance, and smoke rose from somewhere.

"Still a good shot I see, Luka-chan," Miuk commented.

The pinkette, Luka, sat up from her gun, and turned to face Miku, "Not that good, I've been aiming for that car all morning."

Miku raise an eyebrow, "Somebody got a car working? I thought they all fried after that EMP. It took us long enough to find functioning light-bulbs, let alone any kind of vehicle."

Luka shrugged, "Somebody got lucky, and it wasn't us. So just now, I made sure they got unlucky."

Miku laughed darkly, "Well there hasn't been much luck coming our way."

"It could be worse," the man chipped in.

Luka sighed, "Don't tempt fate Gakkun."

'Gakkun,' or rather Gakupo, chuckled, "It's not like the world's that likely to blow up again."

Miku yawned, "Well let's not make the odds any higher."

Luka nodded, "Any more information on what happened in the first place Miku?"

Miku shook her head, "We're still either on the meteorite theory, or the volcano one. To be honest, I don't care why we're in this shit, just how we get out of it."

Luka sighed, "True I suppose."

Miku looked out over the ruined city around them, "Although if somebody had caused this, then I might care."

Luka replied, "I doubt it was deliberate."

Miku nodded, "I know, but if it were, I'd have somebody extra on my 'to kill' list."

Luka smiled sadly, "You're still cut up about that are you?"

Miku looked back to her friend, "Which 'that' would you mean?"

"Your boyfriend."

Miku bit her lip, "Yeah... I still miss him."

Gakupo smiled, "Well, he may still be alive..."

Miku shook her head, "It's best I accept he's dead. What are the chances he survived? We only did through some miracle, and I went to his house, remember. The whole house was just gone, blown apart by someone or something. I even found his brother..." Miku tailed off, shuddering at the memory. She did not react to blood and death that much any more for a very good, but very unfortunate, reason.

"But you didn't find him," Gakupo said, calmly.

"Yeah... but he could have been blown to pieces. I don't think there's much of a chance of him being alive any more, so I'm just going to accept it. If he turns up some day, fit and well, then I'll rejoice, but I don't think that day'll ever come."

Miku had not realised it, but she had begun to cry a little. Gakupo bit his lip, and refrained from speaking, while Luka gave her friend a hug, "It's okay Miku..."

Miku nodded, and Luka released her, as Miku stood up and spoke, trying not to choke on her words, "Sorry... I'd better be going now... I need to rest up." Luka nodded, and Miku left, walking down the stairs swiftly, but not so fast that her rush was obvious.

She entered the building-proper again, and descended a flight or stairs, before turning onto the second floor hallway, and going up to a door. She opened the door, and stepped inside, closing it behind herself.

The room was not huge, but had room for a bed, desk with a few things scattered on it, and a small wardrobe. The bedsheets were the same shade of blue-green as her hair, and it looked very welcoming.

Miku pulled her gun-strap over her head and deposited the gun and her belt of gear on the floor. She then sat down on the bed, and lay back, staring at the ceiling. She sighed, feeling a little comfort from the soft sheets.

But then she remembered, that these were the same sheets, although this was not the same bed, which _he _had first slept with her on. She looked over at the desk. On it was a photo from happier time.

It had been when she and Luka had taken their boys out on a double-date. They had asked a classmate they happened to meet to take a picture. She and Luka were smiling in the middle, with Luka holding tightly onto Gakupo's left arm. To Miku's left stood a tall boy, with brown hair going down to his collar. He was smiling along with the others, his brown eyes staring at the camera, while he had an arm round Miku's shoulders.

Miku's eyes watered as she looked at him, the boy she had lost, in all the madness after the end of the world came...

...but that wasn't quite true, it wasn't the end of the world.

Humanity had much of its technology wiped out, but there were rumours that there were some countries that had not been affected as badly as Japan. Some said that, while most of the USA had been badly hit, some parts were still fine, near-undamaged. Others said that the UK had entirely avoided being hit by the disaster, and was even now beginning rescue operations to the rest of the world. Though where these rumours came from was uncertain.

Regardless, humans were still around, but times were desperate, and desperate times lead to desperate people, willing to take desperate measures. There was anarchy in the streets of Tokyo, and in ever Japanese city terror reigned. The group Miku was in was just one of many, formed in the madness after first the earthquakes that struck the archipelago, and then the unexplained EMP that hit shortly thereafter. Miku's boyfriend had been lost in the madness, Miku having not seen him since the first quake.

Now, she and the others would fight with other groups for food and other necessities. They had found a stockpile of weapons in a destroyed military facility, and had helped themselves. The dead soldiers did not seem to mind.

Miku often wondered why she bothered to continue this life any more, having lost her lover, and having to live by taking from, and killing, others. But most of the time, she just lived for the sake of living. It helped to pass the time.

Miku yawned on her bed, and lay still, her eyes fluttering shut, as sleep overtook her.

* * *

><p>Bis Bald<p>

BW


	2. Chapter 2

The Last Page, Ch2

"Miku, watch out!"

Miku dodged to her left, avoiding a burst of bullets, as Meiko, who had just shouted, fired her pistols at the enemy shooter. Miku heard a cry of pain, and a body slumping to the ground.

"Shit, this is worse than I thought," Meiko muttered, as she ducked behind the low wall that was shielding Miku.

"You got any ideas?" Miku asked the other woman, as another burst of fire went over their heads.

"Wait until they reload, and pray they don't have any grenades."

"Grenades..." Miku muttered, an idea forming. "Meiko, I need a distraction."

Meiko sighed, "Sure thing."

Miku crouched and took out a grenade, as Meiko moved a little way away, then stood and fired a few times with her pistols. Meiko ducked as the men they were fighting shot back.

Miku took her chance and stood, pulling the pin from the grenade and hurling it straight at the men. She then raised her rifle as fast as she could, and fired.

The men, still distracted by Meiko's performance, did not see the grenade until it was too late. One of Miku's shots glanced the grenade, making it explode before the men could dodge.

Miku had ducked behind the wall, as clods of earth flew over the wall from the explosion. She and Meiko looked at each other, then in unison, they stood and pointed their guns over the wall. The remains of the men lay there, rather unsightly.

The two girls stepped over the wall, and continued onwards. They neared a large building, similar to their base. Miku took a radio from her belt, and spoke into it, "Control room, this is Miku, do you read me? Over."

"This is the control room, we read you clearly Miku. Please give your current location. Over," Neru's voice came out of the radio.

"Meiko and I are at point B, ready for stage 2. Over."

"Confirmed, hold for a minute." Neru's voice stopped for a minute, then she came back on, "Stage two commencing..."

A loud explosion came from nearby, and Miku smiled, knowing that Luka had made her shot again, "Confirmed, going now. Over and out."

Miku put the radio back on her belt, then started running after Meiko, who was already jogging towards the centre of the explosion: the main entrance. When they got in sight of it, they stopped, and hid behind a wrecked car, watching the door.

A man and woman, both armed, stepped out of the hole that was their main door, and looked around. They kept their guns up and ready, and the woman spotted Miku's bright hair, and trained her gun on Miku.

That was when the second shot hit.

Miku had never actually seen the results of Luka's shooting up close and personal. Suffice it to say that there was not much left of either of the pair who had been about to attack Miku after a 9 inch high-explosive shell hit them.

Miku and Meiko dashed round the car and into the building. They ran down a corridor, seeing a trio of men ahead. Bullets flew, and Miku and Meiko dashed past the mens' bodies. They neared the storage room that Miku remembered, and slowed, seeing a group of four guards standing ready by the door.

The pair hid themselves, and watched the men from their vantage point, in the shadow of some crates which must have been left there in the rush to defend the building. Miku slipped a grenade from her belt, but Meiko raised a hand to stop her. If Miku missed, she would destroy the food.

They kept watching for a few minutes longer, until one of the men put a radio to his ear. Somebody else had evidently got their hands on a working radio set after the EMP. He spoke into it, but neither of the crouched girls could tell what he was saying.

The man with the radio put it back on his belt, and nodded to one of the others. The two of them started walking towards the crates, presumably intending to go to the front entrance. Miku and Meiko both knew they would likely be spotted if they did nothing, so they raised their guns, ready to attack.

A hail of bullets flew past them, over the crates and into the men who had been advancing. The other two men quickly raised their guns as their comrades collapsed. They shot, apparently blindly, at whoever had shot at the now dead men. Miku and Meiko took their chance and shot over the top of the crates, taking the two men down. They then spun around to face whoever it was behind them.

"Hatsune, don't shoot!" a voice came out of the darkness, and a figure stepped forward.

Miku blinked, "You're..."

The black-haired figure smiled, "Don't worry, it's me, Mist Valley, you remember?"

Miku did remember, he was one of her boyfriend's best friends. "What the hell are you doing here Misty?"

Mist, or Misty whichever is preferred, smirked, "I think we have rather bigger concerns at the moment. I assume you came for the food."

Miku was about to retort, but Meiko cut in, "Yeah, we are, so will you help?"

Misty nodded, "So long as I get enough for me and a few others, sure thing."

Miku raised an eyebrow, "Others? What others?"

Misty looked down at her, a little pity in his eyes, "No, _he_ isn't included."

Miku's face fell, "I didn't think it'd be that simple."

Misty sighed, "Well, we'd better get moving."

Meiko was already at the storage room door, and opened it. "Here we go..." the three of them stepped inside. Around them on the floor was a large collection of cans, all clearly containing some sort of food. Meiko pulled out a sack, and she and Miku started shovelling food into it. Misty took his own backpack off his shoulder, and did likewise.

Once they had filled the bags, they left carefully. There was still a fairly large supply left, but backup was coming soon. As they left, Miku saw Kaito coming towards them, his sister Kaiko following him.

"So, you ran into Mist Valley did you?" Kaito asked.

"Yeah, he gave us some help," Miku said.

Kaito stared at Mist, but then shrugged and continued past him. Kaiko followed him, clutching the backpack she was wearing.

Miku looked to Meiko, "Well, back to base I guess."

Meiko nodded, then looked at Mist, "What are you gonna do then, Valley?"

Mist glanced at Miku, "Hatsune... I may be able to tell you something about _his _whereabouts... well, not me personally, but a mutual friend said he saw him."

Miku eyes brightened, "He's alive?"

Mist nodded, "Well, he was two weeks ago."

Miku's jaw dropped, "Where was he seen?"

"As I said, I wasn't the one who saw him, it was a friend."

"Then take me to this friend!" Miku near-shouted with impatience.

Mist sighed, "Well... I'll warn you, he's an odd one. But sure, I'll take you."

Meiko looked not too happy about this, but took the food bag and put it over her shoulder, "I'll take this back, call us on the radio if there's a problem Miku."

Miku nodded, and Meiko dashed off. Mist then started walking off, and Miku turned to follow him.

"So who is this friend? Do I know him?" Miku asked as they walked.

"Ever met Lumi Yonnana?" Mist asked.

Miku recognised the name, she had met him once at a party her boyfriend had taken her to. "Him? I see what you meant by an odd one."

Mist laughed. It was not exactly a cheerful laugh, Miku had not heard many happy laughs in the past month, but at least this one came close to it. "Indeed, he does give off that aura."

The pair continued on, until they neared a building, which stood out in the area, being relatively in-tact. 'Relatively' being the operative word: it had taken some bad damage, and had holes in some of the walls, but was at least still standing.

"So... is this it?" Miku asked as Mist approached the building.

"Yeah, it isn't much, but it's a roof over our heads... until it collapses at least."

Miku felt a little uncomfortable entering after that, but stepped through the door, if you could call it that when it was really just a piece of corragated iron over a hole in the wall, after Mist.

"You brought a visitor Misty?" a voice asked.

"Yeah, the Hatsune girl," Mist replied to the figure who was sat on the ground, back to the wall, "Where're the others?"

"They went out to get food." The boy then turned his gaze on Miku, through the dark lenses of his sunglasses, "Hatsune-san eh? It's been a while young lady."

Miku was slightly put off by a boy, barely a year older than her, calling her 'young,' but spoke calmly in spite of it, "Mist mentioned that you saw Satoru."

The boy, Lumi, raised an eyebrow, barely noticable in the darkness, "Ah, I thought you'd be here about that..." he stood up, and walked towards Miku.

Miku took a moment to take in the sight of him, red shirt, black trousers, and a black tie, odd clothes to wear at the end of the world. He was smartly dressed, and tidy too, while the world around him went to hell. Miku began to feel a little self-conscious, in her purple tank-top and checked purple and black skirt, which were covered with dirt. This man could have just stepped out of an office in Tokyo after a normal day's work. Even his short brown hair was tidy, scarily so, combed to perfection, and even through the sunglasses, Miku could feel his unflinching gaze.

To say the least, she was more than a little scared of the man.

"Red?" she said without thinking .

"Pardon me madam?" he replied.

"Why red? Are you trying to stand out like a sore thumb?" Miku asked, coming up with the first thing she could think of.

"Says the lady with bright green hair."

"At least you have a choice."

"You could cut your hair as well as I could take off my shirt."

Miku bit her lip, trying to think of something to say to avoid looking the fool. "But then what would Satoru-kun say?"

Lumi smiled, "You have a point there, but what would he say to me walking around shirtless?"

Mist butted into their conversation, "He would probably just tell you to put something on, and to keep that sort of thing for when the world was back in no more than five pieces."

Lumi chuckled, "True, true..."

Miku looked between the two, wondering why on Earth Satoru was friends with these two.

"Satoru's hardly the most normal person ever either," Mist replied, as if in answer to her thoughts.

"How did you...?" Miku asked.

"It was written all over your face, you're not exactly the hardest person to read," Lumi replied for his friend.

Miku coloured, "Thanks."

Lumi laughed again, though Mist stayed silent. "Well Hatsune, I see why Wolfie was all over you in the way he was."

"Wolfie?" Miku asked.

"Ah... perhaps he never mentioned that nickname to you. Never mind... so you want to know what I saw, correct?"

Miku nodded, and Lumi continued, "It was... two weeks or so ago, I forget the exact date, I and the rest of us were on the move through the South of Tokyo, when we ran into some... trouble."

"As in about eight counts of trouble, all armed. Seriously, the military really should have protected their weapons better," Mist chipped in.

"Anyway," Lumi continued, "the four of us there got split up, with me by myself. I ended up hiding from three of them who were coming closer. I had managed to hide myself in a ruined building, and was waiting for an opportunity to attack. Then all I heard was a string of shots, followed by three loud thumps."

"When I looked round, I saw my three pursuers on the ground dead. Then I saw Satoru. He was standing on the second floor of a building, holding two pistols, which he was lowering. When he saw me, he smiled, then disappeared. I tried to follow him, but when I got to where he had been, I saw he had already made it a few hundred yards away. He can be damn fast when he wants to be."

"He ran away?" Miku asked. "Why would he do that?"

"I think I understand," Mist said, "If he were with us, he would have to stay with us the whole time, when he has other things to do."

"Other things?" Miku asked.

"Use your head Hatsune, he was out of town when the earthquakes started, he had no idea where anybody was. Who do you think he'd be most worried about?" Misty said.

"Uh... his family?" Miku asked, "But I went to his house myself, and it was completely destroyed."

Misty nodded, "We checked there too after Lumi saw him, I saw what happened there. But, I don't think he was most worried about them. But even if he were, who do you think he'd be worried about next?"

Miku opened her eyes wide, "M-me?"

Lumi continued for Mist, "Yeah, and, not to be cruel, but do you think we would, out of charity, have looked for a girl we knew could well be dead? Satoru guessed we wouldn't."

"So... he stayed away from you to find me?" Miku asked.

"Probably. I suspect that he accidentally ran into us when we were in trouble, and helped out, but his main aim meant he couldn't stay with us," Lumi said.

"Bastard as he usually is, he cares enough about you to put your safety above everything," Mist commented.

Miku thought for a moment, then her eyes flew open, "But... if he was looking for me... he would have..." She turned and started to run, shouting over her shoulder, "Thanks for the information."

Lumi smiled at her retreating form, "Wow... for once Satoru's being nice to somebody with no personal gain."

"Yeah... well he cares a lot about her..." Mist turned away and skulked over to a corner.

"You worked that all out pretty fast Mist... I suppose you'd know how it felt though."

Mist nodded, and sighed, "But unlike that damned Wolf, I know when I should stick with my friends. If he'd stayed, they would have been reunited by now."

"But if you hadn't stayed, you might have been reunited by now," Lumi stated.

Mist glared at his friend, but said no more.

* * *

><p>Miku kept running, down streets that she knew well, in spite of their current state. She should have realised sooner, that if he were alive, he would try to look in two places sooner or later. She doubted that he would be hanging around one of them by now, but the other...<p>

She reached her destination, panting slightly. She stood and looked up at the house that stood before her: her house.

* * *

><p>Bis Bald<p>

BW


	3. Chapter 3

The Last Page, Ch3

Miku entered her house, using the key that she still had in her back pocket. Her family had been rich, and the house was built to resist robbery, but she was still surprised it had not been broken into yet. Although that also made it less likely that _he_ would be here, although she had slipped him a spare key once, to make it easier for him to arrive late in the evening and leave early in the morning without anybody noticing, as he had on occasion.

She stepped inside, and surveyed the hallway. The potted plants that once decorated the hall were now dried and rotting, and anything of use, Miku and the others had taken with them. But anything deemed too heavy for its potential usage had been left, except for a few personal items, like the picture that now sat in Miku's room at their headquarters.

Miku's radio began to crackle, and she picked it up, "Miku here."

"Miku? Thank goodness. Where are you?" Neru's voice came through the radio.

"My house, there's something I've got to look for here."

Neru sighed, "Do you want somebody to meet you?"

"No, I'll be fine by myself. Even if something goes wrong, I think there was a little food left here for an emergency last time we came."

"Okay... call if anything goes wrong, okay."

"Sure..." Miku put the radio down, and continued looking around.

She noticed that a few things seemed to have moved since the last time she was there: a pair of shoes knocked over in the hallway, when she had had to clear that hall completely so the others would not trip over (Gumi was far too accident-prone), and a door left open, when she shut and locked them all.

She walked towards the open door, and stepped through into the kitchen. Looking around, she saw a few more things disturbed, chairs pushed aside from the table (she was rather obsessive when it came to being tidy), a plate thrown in the sink, as there was no running water.

The last item confirmed her suspicions, nobody had eaten in the house on the day the earthquakes hit, and afterwards there had not been anybody there until Miku and her friends, and nobody ate anything then. Somebody had been there since, but she did not know who.

She looked around some more, then stepped back into the hallway, and climbed the stairs. She went into her bedroom, now devoid of all the things that mattered most to her: the bed sheets now lay on her new bed, her favourite photos sat on her new desk, and the necklace that Satoru had once bought for her was round her neck, the metal star pendant cool against her skin.

But then she noticed a photo lying on the stripped bed. It was the same one as she had framed in her room. She picked it up, and looked at it, then felt an indent on the back. She turned it over, and saw writing there, in Satoru's rather messy scrawl.

_"Miku,_

_I came here as soon as I could. I was out of town when the earthquakes hit. I see you've already been here, but if you're reading this, you must have come back._

_I'll come back here every three days if I can, so please at least leave me a message and where I can find you, if you can't wait yourself. I need to go and find out what happened to my family._

_I hope to see you soon, I love you._

_Satoru"_

Miku read the words with tears in her eyes. He was alive, her Satoru was alive, he would be here... Miku checked the date, sixteen days ago... in only a couple of days. She then noticed that the message continued.

_P.S. Sorry for the mess._

Miku read that, and a smiled crept onto her lips, then she laughed, outright and happily. It was just so like him so say that. She slipped the photograph into her pocket, and looked around for something to write on and with. She found a biro and then an old photo that she had two copies of, and had only kept one. It was of just her, smiling with her head tilted slightly. She quickly scrawled the address of the headquarters building on the back, and wrote a little message.

_"Satoru,_

_I only came back again today, but I hope you're still okay. Come as soon as you can. I love you._

_Miku."_

She laid the picture where the previous one had been, then turned and left the room. She walked down the stairs, and looked through the eye-hole on the front door before opening it and stepping out. She then jogged back towards her new home.

* * *

><p>"Miku!" Meiko said ecstatic at the sight of the other girl. "How did it go? Find out anything?"<p>

Miku smiled as she stepped inside. "Satoru should be here in a few days."

Meiko smiled, "How did you find him?"

"He left a message at my house, after we'd already been there. He said in it that he'd go back every three days or so. I've left him a reply, telling him to come here."

"So you just missed each other I take it," Meiko said.

"Assuming he made it back, yes," Miku said.

The pair went up the stairs, and Miku noticed as they passed it that the storage room looked rather more full than the day before.

"So you got the food back okay then I see," Miku commented.

Meiko nodded, "It was a breeze. Kaito and Kaiko managed a large bag each, and we got a few others on it too. We cleared the place out, and just in time. Luka says that just after we left, she spotted some of that group returning. I'm just wondering what they did when they got back."

"Anybody injured at all?" Miku asked.

"Apart from Gumi tripping up when sorting the food, nope. We got lucky."

Miku sighed with relief, "That's good..."

"So... what are you going to do when he turns up?" Meiko asked.

"What?" Miku asked, not fully understanding what Meiko meant.

"Will you stay with us, or, if he doesn't want to stay, will you go with him?"

Miku blinked. The idea that Satoru might not want to stay, except perhaps for her, had not crossed her mind. He might still have hopes of finding his family, at least, his mother and step-father. Miku had no doubt that he would already have found what was left of his half-brother.

"I don't know... I'd just thought that he would probably want to stay. I mean, it's safer here, and..." Miku bit her lip.

"You want him to stay safely with you, not run after his possibly dead parents," Meiko stated, not as a question.

"Yeah... I know it's rich coming from me, considering he searched so long for me without knowing if I was alive... but I don't want him throwing his life away... I want him to be with me... is that selfish?"

Meiko laughed a little, "Yeah, it's selfish, but you have a little right to be selfish here, and it would be selfish of him to run off to try to find his family."

Miku smiled as they reached the top of the stairs, "I suppose... Meiko... would you mind telling Kaito about this?"

Meiko raised an eyebrow, "Why don't you want to tell him?"

Miku looked at the floor, "I'm just tired..."

Meiko nodded, "Fine, I'll tell him. You make sure you get some rest, and have a good think." She turned to go further down the corridor, while Miku continued up the next flight of stairs, and into her bedroom.

She slumped on her bed, and sighed, curling up. In just a few days, she would be with him again. Her heart raced at the thought. She rolled about restlessly, and tried to rest. Eventually, she gave up on resting, too excited to sleep. She sat up, and left the room, heading up to the roof. When she got there, she went straight up the central tower.

When she got there, she saw Gakupo pretending to sleep again, and Luka knelt over her gun. Luka raised a hand in greeting, as she had before.

"Thanks for earlier Luka," Miku said, sitting against the pillar opposite Gakupo.

About five minutes later, Luka pulled the trigger, and a lump of explosives encased in metal flew out of her gun. She sat up, as the explosion sounded in the distance. "That's quite alright Miku."

"So..." Gakupo said, opening one eye to look at the girls, "A certain alcoholic told us you found something out..."

Luka smiled at Miku, "She told us about the message you found... not in detail though. So when should he be arriving?"

"A couple of days if all goes well. Maybe a few more." Miku was smiling brightly as she spoke, "I can't wait to see him again!"

Luka giggled, "I can imagine."

Gakupo sighed, "All's well that ends well then?"

Miku raised a brow, "Not just yet. He has to get here first, don't jinx it."

"Alright, I won't."

"And besides," Miku continued, "it's not like him coming will solve all our problems suddenly. We're still trapped in this hellhole."

Luka nodded, "But at least it won't be as bad, right? Everything's better when you're with somebody you love."

"I second that," Gakupo put in.

Miku nodded, "I suppose that's true. I just hope he's alright. I mean, he's been running around by himself for a month, so I hardly imagine he'll be at 100%, but..."

Luka smiled, "Well if he makes it here, he clearly can't be in too bad a shape, and hey, at least you know he's alive."

"Was alive when he left that message," Miku said.

"You do know that you don't have to be a pessimist Miku," Luka replied.

"Yeah, but I am one anyway," Miku returned.

"Well... we'll just have to wait and see if he makes it here." Luka stood when she finished speaking, and stretched, before returning to her gun and loading it with a fresh round.

Miku took the hint that Luka had a job to do, and stood to leave.

* * *

><p><em>Two days later.<em>

Miku sat by the entrance, waiting. She had not slept well for the last two days, and had slight bags under her eyes. But she was determined to stay up for Satoru's return. She had been sitting there for the whole day, and when the few people who had left came back, she had leaped up, hopeful, only to be disappointed each time.

She was tense, and nervous about the boy's return. She hoped he would make it back tonight.

She heard somebody walking towards her, and turned to see Meiko.

"Miku, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..."

"Really?"

Miku blinked, and looked down, "Okay... I'm a little tired, but I'll stay up for Satoru!"

"Do you think he wants to see you like that? I'll be honest, you look awful, and Satoru won't be happy to see you like that. You should go and rest."

"But what if he arrives while I'm asleep?"

"Then he'll be here when you wake up."

Miku wanted to keep arguing, but was truly too tired to complain, so she begrudgingly stood and went upstairs to her room. When she reached it, she crashed on the bed, and her eyes shut immediately.

Miku woke some time late. She glanced at the small window, seeing it was dark.

As she sat up, she heard voices, two men talking.

"...is really good with a rifle it seems. She's learnt quickly."

"I'm just glad she's okay. When I found that message, I was so relieved."

The first voice was Kaito's, but the second was a voice Miku had not heard in a month. When she heard it, she stood up quickly and dashed to the door, opening it just as the two men reached the door. She leaped at the second man, hugging him tight.

"Miku?" The voice said, as the man fell back under Miku's attack. When they had landed, Miku felt a pair of arms encircle her.

"Satoru..." Miku looked up, to see the face of her boyfriend, who was smiling at her, his unshaven face lighting up. But that was not the most salient feature of his face that Miku noticed, as her mouth fell open.

"S-Satoru... what happened to your eye?"

Over his left eye, the teen wore a piece of torn clothing, which had been wrapped round his head like a bandage. It completely covered his eye, and was roughly tied at the back of his head.

"You really want to know?" he asked. "I got shot at. I didn't lose the eye, but..." He tugged at the make-shift bandage, removing it.

Miku gasped as the cloth came away. Satoru's eye was surrounded by small scars, the scar tissue have puffed up, and was still red, making it a nasty disfigurement. The eye itself half-opened, revealing the brown hue underneath, surrounded by red, his eye being severely bloodshot. The eyebrow had been almost completely removed, only a little singed hair marking its place.

"A fragmenting shot caught the side of my face... and this is the result."

"D-does it hurt?" Miku asked, her voice shaky as she spoke.

"Not much, any more..." Satoru replied, his voice trailing off towards the end.

"But... you're here at least..." Miku said, half-mumbling. "You're here, and you'll stay, right?"

Satoru nodded, "Yeah... I'll stay with you Miku."

Miku's eyes began to well up with tears, as she threw herself at Satoru again, who was prepared this time, and held her tightly.

Kaito, who had just been standing by watching, left the couple to themselves. He made a mental note to suggest Satoru visit their stand-in doctor about an eyepatch.

Miku had buried her head in Satoru's shoulder, and was now crying into his black t-shirt, the tears hidden by the dark material.

"It's okay Miku, I'm here for you," Satoru said quietly into her ear.

"Satty-kun..." Miku spoke through her sobs.

"Miku..." Satoru stroked the back of her hair, and she looked up.

"Satty..." they leaned closer, and gently kissed each other.

* * *

><p>Bis Bald<p>

BW


	4. Chapter 4

The Last Page, Ch4

Miku and Luka sat side by side on the bottom step of the tower on the roof, as they watched their boyfriends. The two young men stood facing each other across the flat of the roof, about ten yards apart, each with a wooden practice sword in hand. Satoru now sported a back eyepatch, which just about completely covered his injury.

"Ready?" Gakupo asked the other teen.

Satoru nodded, and the two stared each other down for a moment, then Gakupo rushed at Satoru, sword raised in both hands. Satoru ducked to the side, and brought his sword round, but Gakupo parried, and went on the offensive again.

"So, how's it been for you since he came back?" Luka asked her friend as they watched their boyfriends spar.

"Good, although it's sad about his eye. He's still got the sight in it, but it's puffed up so he can't really open it. Haku just gave him that patch, and told him to keep it on until the swelling goes down."

"Yeah... it must be a pain for him."

"Well, he's pretty well coordinated, if he weren't he would have lost already," Miku replied, referring to the fight, as Satoru dodged a swipe narrowly, and kicked at Gakupo's legs, trying to take the boy's feet from under him. Gakupo managed to keep his balance, just, but Satoru then stabbed with his sword, throwing Gakupo off, and he fell.

Satoru stood over Gakupo, the tip of his wooden blade at the other man's neck, "Two-all I make that."

Gakupo nodded, "You're better than you used to be."

Satoru smirked, his one eye glinting, "A month running round trying to survive, improvising weapons at every turn, and you'd get better too."

Gakupo chuckled as he stood up. "I can only imagine."

"And good for you," Satoru replied as the two walked over to the girls.

"Well done Satty!" Miku said as they approached.

"Why on Earth do you let her call you that, Satoru?" Gakupo asked Satoru quietly.

"Are you suggesting I refuse?" Satoru returned, just as quiet, "'Man knoweth no fury like the wrath of woman scorned,' right?"

"True..." Gakupo replied, before turning back to the girls.

"What are you two whispering about?" Luka asked the pair.

"Nothing my dear," Gakupo said, stepping up to her.

"Ri~ght, like I believe that for a moment," Luka replied, with a little smile on her face.

Miku stood up as Satoru reached her, "You look exhausted Satoru."

Satoru smirked, "Well that guy doesn't give an easy win."

"I should certainly hope not," Gakupo retorted.

"Of course," Satoru said, as her encircled Miku with an arm.

"We'd better be going now," Miku said, looking at the midday sun. "Kaito said that he wanted a word."

"Gods, why are we running at his beck and call?" Satoru asked, clearly annoyed.

"Does my Satty not like taking orders?" Miku asked, coyly.

"I only take orders from you," he replied, then muttered, "...and then only 'cause I value my balls."

"What was that?" Miku asked, a mischievous grin playing on her face.

"Nothing Miku, now let's go and get this over with," Satoru relented, allowing himself to be taken away by Miku as she waved goodbye to the other couple.

"What does he want this time?" Satoru asked as soon as the pair were inside again.

"He wants full details of what you did after the earthquakes, and if you found out anything useful."

Satoru sighed, "Why does he think he has a right to know?"

"He has kept us all alive for the last month," Miku pointed out.

"By putting you and the others in the way of danger, and keeping himself and that sister of his out of it at all costs, yes," Satoru growled slightly as he spoke.

"Why do dislike him so much? Do you still hate him for dating me once?"

Satoru's remaining eyebrow twitched, "Maybe I do, but I still don't see why he should know what I was doing."

Miku sighed. Satoru and Kaito, along with Mist Valley and Meiko, had been in the year above Miku at Miku's school. Up until the end of the previous year, Kaito and Satoru had been somewhere between rivals and enemies: enemies in that they showed strong animosity at every meeting, but rivals in that they vaguely respected one another, and they, originally at least, had the same target: Miku.

After Kaito had asked her out in her first year, and they had been together for six months, Miku dumped him, as he was rather too clingy and possessive for her tastes. That said, Satoru, who she started dating soon afterwards, was hardly an improvement on that front, but was a different type of clingy and possessive. Kaito would announce loudly to the world that Miku was his, and not to touch her. Satoru would just glare at anybody who got too close, and if they did not take the hint, he would make it rather more obvious that she belonged to him.

Regardless of the reasons, the two disliked each other, and it was a relief when they both graduated, Satoru going to Todai with Mist, while Kaito and Meiko went to another university in the area. Their disdain remained whenever they met by chance, but it had cooled down from active hatred to a passive dislike, or so it appeared to everybody.

That was, in Miku's eyes, an improvement.

"You should give him a chance, he's changed, as have you. You were talking to him happily enough when you arrived."

"Yeah, but that was because by then I just wanted to see you," Satoru replied.

Miku blushed slightly at the comment, "Flattery won't get you anywhere Satoru, now you'd better be polite to Kaito."

"I'll be civil at least, as long as he is," Satoru responded.

Miku sighed, knowing that that was the best she was going to get out of him. The pair reached the door to the planning room, and Miku knocked. "Come in!" Kaito called from inside, and the pair entered.

"Ah, Miku, Klein, you're here now, good," Kaito said as the pair entered.

"So, what exactly do you want?" Satoru asked as he and Miku sat down.

"I want to know anything that would be useful to us that you found out," Kaito replied.

"And why should I tell you?" Satoru asked, his annoyance showing through in his voice.

"Because I'm in charge here," Kaito replied, not even batting an eyelid.

Satoru surveyed the other man, "And why are you in charge?"

Kaito glared back, "Because I was deemed the best choice to lead when we first grouped together."

Miku remained silent, waiting for the pair to reach a conclusion to their little argument.

"Well, you may be in charge of this group, but that gives you no right to take charge of me, does it?" Satoru returned.

"You are staying here, as you have been for the last two days, and while doing so, you are treated as a part of the group."

Satoru stared, his good eye seeming trying to kill Kaito with its glare to Miku, although it still held up a mask of impassiveness, "Then maybe I should leave, if I have to obey you."

Kaito smirked confidently, "But you wouldn't leave your girlfriend, would you? You promised Miku you'd stay here right?"

"Ah, no, I promised I'd stay with her, which is a completely different matter," Satoru returned, his glare never letting up.

At this point, Miku had to interject, "But Satoru... I...I'm staying here."

Satoru looked at his girlfriend, then back at the grinning Kaito, "Regardless, you still haven't given me a good reason to obey your command, just because the others do, I don't have to."

"Then you can leave, but if you stay, you have to do as I say," Kaito stated simply.

"But why do you have to? I've never agreed to it, and its not like there's any law left in this world, certainly not one that demands I pay the least amount of attention to your words. You have authority, but that's it, and as things are now, authority doesn't mean a thing."

Kaito's grin subsided, and he stared at Satoru, as if trying to gauge how much of what he said was serious.

"Satty!" Miku said, chidingly.

"You're right of course," Kaito said suddenly.

Miku was surprised by the reply. If Satoru was, he didn't show it, "I know I am."

"But, do you really want to create disunity in the group?" Kaito asked.

"Disunity? The others can all ask 'how high?' when they think you might want them to jump, but I won't."

Miku put a hand on Satoru's shoulder, "Satty... that's enough."

Kaito was now clearly angry, "Well then, if you dislike it so much, why don't you just leave?" He slammed the desk and half-stood in his chair, glaring across at Satoru.

Satoru sighed, "You really are a fool..." Satoru then pulled a pistol out of it's holster, and put it to Kaito's head in one fluid motion. Miku gasped, while Kaito blanched.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kaito asked, his anger subsiding into fear.

"Just remember," Satoru said, still as calm as ever, "I could kill you right now, and there'll be plenty of other opportunities for me to kill you too. You understand don't you? For all your worthlessness, you aren't a fool."

"Who are you calling worthless?" Kaito asked, through gritted teeth.

"The man who sits in this room at the end of the world, ordering others to do his dirty work, without even fighting himself even once. You are pathetic," Satoru said, pressing the gun more firmly against Kaito's head.

"Satoru!" Miku said, her voice with a little fear in it. She knew Satoru hated Kaito, but this was far too extreme. She was seeing something in her boyfriend that she didn't think belonged there.

"You sat here, while you sent Miku out to fight to bring food for you to eat. I know all about it, you sent everybody out, even those twins, everybody was fighting, except you and your little sister!" Satoru's uncovered eye finally broke its mask of calmness, as fire rose in it, as he let his rage out.

Kaito merely shook in fear, as the pistol was pressed against his head harder, and he fell back fully into his seat.

"Give me... one good reason... why I shouldn't shoot you, you worthless piece of crap!" Satoru had stood, knocking back his chair.

"Satoru!" Miku stood, and grabbed his arm which held the gun, "Stop this, Satoru!" Tears began to well up in her eyes.

Satoru did not look at her, he merely pulled back his arm, put the gun back in its holster, before turning to leave. At the door, he glared back, at where Kaito was shaking in his seat, a ring of red marking his forehead, where the gun had been pressing. "Just remember," Satoru said quietly. "Next time, I will pull the trigger."

He left the room, the door swinging shut behind him. Miku stared after him.

"You left me... for that... thing..." Kaito sounded dazed. "That guy... is dangerous to everybody."

Miku looked at Kaito as he sat there, still shaking.

"Maybe... I should kill him... that would solve the problem... wouldn't it..." Kaito's words seemed to be addressed to the world at large, not Miku.

Miku turned in disgust and left the room, then looked around, trying to work out where Satoru had gone. She ran up to her bedroom, and opened the door. She saw immediately that he was not there, and ran up to the roof. She ran up to the tower, where Gakupo was startled by her sudden appearance. He did not have time to comment as she disappeared the moment she realised that Satoru was not there.

She ran back down into the building, when her ears caught something. Gunshots. They were coming from the ground floor. In a flash of inspiration, she dashed down, and into a room at the end of the ground floor hall.

The room had been set up for target practise, and had several pieces of cardboard with human shaped figures drawn of them at the far end of the room. Satoru stood not too far from the door, facing one of them. His pistols were in his hands, and he was filling the cardboard with holes.

Miku noticed that about half of the holes were very closely grouped in two places: the head and chest. The rest were scattered all over the cardboard, many missing the drawn shape completely. Most of these misses were also, Miku noted, on the left of the sheet of cardboard. She guessed his unusable eye was giving him more trouble than it first appeared.

His guns clicked as they ran out of ammunition, and he lowered them, then looked round at Miku, "So..." he said, then stopped.

"You didn't have to threaten Kaito like that," Miku said, leaning against the wall and looking at Satoru.

"He sent you into danger, while keeping himself safe. I couldn't forgive him," Satoru said simply, then started reloading his pistols.

Miku then noticed something about the target he had been shooting at. It was one Rin and Len had created, and made in the shape of Kaito as a joke.

"You really hate him, don't you," Miku said, not as a question.

"Yeah," Satoru replied, as he finished reloading, and replaced his guns in the two holsters on his belt. "I guess I hate his guts even more than I ever have before."

Miku nodded, "So... did you find out anything while you were looking for me?"

Satoru looked over at her, with a frown, "I found my brother..."

Miku nodded, sighing, "Yeah... so did I."

"I buried him... what I could find of him at least... but nothing to show either of my parents were there..."

Miku swallowed hard. Since his arrival, neither Satoru nor Miku had breached the topic of Satoru's family.

"But... I found this..." Satoru reached into a pocket, and pulled out something. He threw it to Miku, who caught it and looked at it. It was a pendant, with a ring, with a small blue gem in it.

"It's the ring my father... my real father that is, gave to Mother... it was her wedding ring. After he died and she remarried, she wore it on a necklace, almost always, but kept it hidden. I found it... in a pool of blood."

Miku looked up from the ring as he said that. She then looked back to the spotless ring.

"I cleaned it since, but I found it and the broken chain in a pool of blood. There was a trail of blood... which lead off the side of a cliff." Satoru's eye cast downwards. "And nearby, I found my stepfather's body. He was shot, and I guess Mother was hit as well..." he trailed off, and Miku saw a tear in his good eye.

She stepped up to him, and wrapped her arms around him.

"That's why... I can't lose you now... or I might lose my mind..." His arms wrapped around Miku, and he sniffed. "Is it okay for the guy to cry in the girl's arms?"

"Probably not, but screw that... we're at the world's end, I don't think anybody'll care," Miku said quietly, as Satoru gave in to his tears. Miku also felt a wetness around her eyes and she began sobbing as well. The two fell to their knees as they cried.

* * *

><p>At the door, which was open only a crack, Meiko watched the pair. Silently, she closed the door and turned away. She saw Kaito standing at the top of the stairs.<p>

"I don't know what you did to them, but don't you think they deserve a break?" Meiko asked the young man.

"I didn't do anything, Klein pulled a gun on me, and threatened me," Kaito said, seemingly not caring about Meiko's words.

The girl walked up the stairs past him, stopping on the step above him. "But who drove him to pull that gun? Eh? Ka~i~to-kun," she asked, drawing out the word 'Kaito' as she spoke.

Kaito turned to look at her again, but Meiko was already up and away from him. Kaito glared at the door that concealed the crying couple, then walked up the stairs, and back into the planning room.

* * *

><p>That night, Satoru lay in the bed that Miku and he now shared, his good eye staring up at the ceiling. He felt Miku shift slightly, as her body pressed against his side, her small bare chest rubbing against him, and her head moving slightly on his right arm, which held her in her sleep.<p>

Satoru turned his head to look at her in the lowlight, his eye taking in enough of her sleeping face for both eyes.

"I'm glad I found you again... now we can stay together forever... right Miku?" he asked the girl softly, not expecting an answer.

To his surprise, Miku replied in her sleep, mumbling, "Why Satty... why's it like this... why?"

Satoru raised his single brow, "What? Why is what like this?"

Miku murmured, "The world..."

Satoru sighed sadly, and looked at the window, from where a little moonlight shone into the room.

"Think of life as a book, it's all written down before you, ready for you to go through, but you don't know what's going to happen until the last page. This world is what happens when the last page in the book of humanity is reached." He looked back at the sleeping form, which, unknown to him, had heard every word, as she secretly lay away, though her eyes were tight shut. A small smile crept to the girl's face, and she truly fell asleep, just as Satoru muttered something else, almost inaudible.

'Good night Satty,' she thought, as she drifted off.

* * *

><p>Bis Bald<p>

BW


	5. Chapter 5

The Last Page, Ch5

Miku ducked as a hail of bullets passed over her head, narrowly missing her. She pointed her assault rifle over the top of the wall which she stayed ducked behind, and fired a spray of bullets at her attacker. She did not hear anything to suggest she had hit, and quickly removed a new magazine from her belt, as the old magazine ejected automatically, and she slammed the new one in place.

She glanced to her left, where she saw a figure slowly aiming his gun. She smiled slightly as Satoru stopped moving the gun, his right eye blinked once, and he pulled the trigger.

Miku heard a body fall, and saw Satoru raise his gun, and nod to her. She turned and stood up, looking at the fallen body of her attacker, as Satoru walked towards her.

"That should be the last of them near enough, let's head back," Satoru said, and Miku nodded. Satoru slung his sniper rifle over his back, and took out his twin pistols, as the pair moved back towards their home.

Satoru's good eye kept darting about to the sides, in case there were any more of the group they had been fighting. It was another group like theirs, which had moved to the area, and were a little too close for comfort. Not that they enjoyed the killing, but it had to be done if they wanted to survive themselves.

Miku's radio crackled, and she picked it up, "Hello?"

_"Miku, are you alright?" _Meiko's voice came through the radio.

"Yeah, Satoru and I are fine, is everybody else back?"

_"Yeah, the others all made it back, but Miki's out of action for a while. She took a hit to the arm, and one caught her neck. The others should be fine after some rest, and a bit of patching up. Oh, but Kaito's furious that Satoru ordered the operation without even telling him."_

That was true, Satoru, upon hearing about the group, and that Kaito was taking ages over deciding what to do, had quickly got the rest of the group together, somehow without Kaito knowing, and prepared the attack that they were now carrying out.

"Well... you could tell him to go screw himself," Miku replied, pissed off at Kaito after what he said about Satoru. "Or you could just point out that the operation was a success."

_"I don't think he'll like that."_

"That's why I want you to tell him that," Miku chuckled as she replied.

_"Well, expect him to be angry when you get back."_

"Sure, sure. See ya soon," Miku put the radio down, and sped up to catch up with Satoru.

"Anything important?" he asked her, his eye still not looking at her, as he kept looking out for any potential threat.

"Kaito's furious, and Miki's injured."

"Unlucky Miki. Nothing too bad I hope," Satoru said, a little sympathy in his voice.

"She'll live, but a shot hit her arm, and another caught her neck."

"Ah, so she'll be out of action for a few weeks at least then."

"Yeah," Miku nodded, shifting her rifle on its strap.

"And about Kaito, how angry are we talking?"

"Very."

"How very?"

"Very very."

"Oh goody, so I've got some oversized child to deal with when I get back. Joy!" Satoru said, the sarcasm clear and heavy in his voice.

"Well, you did do it all without him even knowing," Miku pointed out.

"But if he had known, he would have tried to stop me."

"Yes but do you really think he would have succeeded? I know you, and when you have your mind set on something, you don't stop for anybody."

"I stop for you," Satoru said, a smirk on his face.

"Maybe..." Miku looked ahead, to where their home stood. They advanced to the metal door, and knocked.

"Miku? Satoru? Is that you?" came the muffled voice of Meiko through the door. She sounded slightly shaken.

"Yeah, it's us," Miku replied loudly.

The door opened, and Meiko was revealed looking slightly scared. Behind her, Kaito was stood, holding a pair of pistols. One of the pistols shifted from Meiko to Satoru, while the other was already trained on him.

"So, this is the kind of mad you are at me Kaito?" Satoru said, his good eye glaring. "And you set up a trap? How brave of you, to give yourself as much of an advantage as possible."

"Cowardice is just the same as genius Klein," Kaito said, a scowl on his face.

"Really?" Satoru chuckled, then began to outright laugh. His entire frame shook with laughter, then he suddenly stopped, and leaned forward, giving a one-eyed leer to Kaito, "Then, coward, do the clever thing, and kill me."

Kaito blinked, taken aback, and shouted "What the hell? Shouldn't you plead for your life?"

"Why the hell should I do that?" Satoru asked, hands firmly in the pockets of his brown jacket. "I don't see the point. If you're set on killing me, pleading isn't going to change your mind. But I wonder if you have the guts."

Kaito stared at the other man as if he were crazy.

"Can you do it Kaito? Kill a man? And I don't mean the ones we've shot in the street, the ones who we don't know, who're just more blank faces to us, nobody important. I mean to ask, can you kill a man who you know well, who you've known for years?"

Kaito was visibly shaking, and he had a look of fear in his eyes. Miku stood scared stiff by Satoru, watching the two men, as Meiko sat on the floor, having collapsed with fright. Others were drawn when they heard Satoru's laugh, and were standing at the foot of the stairs, watching in shock as the stand-off continued.

"Do you have the guts, Kaito Shion? If you do, pull that trigger!" Satoru shouted the last words, and Kaito closed his eyes, and began to squeeze the trigger.

Satoru reacted in an instant, pushing Miku to the side, so she landed on the ground, then ducking as Kaito shot. He then leaped at the other man, drawing a hidden knife from his pocket, and lunging at Kaito.

Blood spattered on the ground, and Kaito fell limp, a wide gash open in his neck. Satoru stood over him, splattered with blood. Miku just lay on the ground, shaking, and watching the scene before her, wide-eyed.

Satoru turned to Miku, and spoke, "Miku... I'm sorry."

And Miku saw a tear in Satoru's good eye.

* * *

><p>There was a patch of upturned earth just outside the base. Meiko had placed a rough cross, with a scarf wrapped round it, in the ground at the head of the grave. Kaiko was knelt at the foot, crying, while Meiko stood next to her, a sombre look on her face.<p>

Miku was watching from some distance away, standing in the doorway of the building. She wanted to go and comfort Kaiko, but she knew that she was one of the last people the girl wanted to see after what happened to her brother.

She heard somebody behind her, and turned to see Satoru walking towards her. She could not look at him, and looked at the ground instead. Satoru passed her, muttering to her quietly, "I know I did wrong. But I don't regret what I did, I just wish circumstances had been different."

Miku looked up and round at him as he walked over to the grave. When the pair by the grave heard him, they both looked up. Meiko glared at him, while Kaiko looked close to crying again. Satoru stepped past them, and stood by the side of the grave. Reaching up, he pulled the eyepatch from his face, and put it over the cross.

"I promise I'll keep this eye on her for you. I'm sorry, I hated you... but you weren't so bad..." Satoru said, before turning and heading back towards the building.

Miku looked at him as he passed, his nearly-healed eye still squinting slightly. Yet there was purpose in that eye.

"Satoru..." Miku said quietly.

The boy stopped, but did not look round.

"Even if none of the others ever forgive you, I do."

Satoru chuckled, "You always do. You forgive anybody for anything. I've never seen you really angry at anybody. Even this murderer."

"He would have killed you, you had no choice. Even if you don't think that, I do," Miku stated simply.

"I know. But killing somebody you know like that will always cause you to hate yourself. If I didn't feel this way, I'd be worried that my humanity was on the way out."

Miku turned to look at the back of his head, his messy hair covering any sight of his face. "You don't have to worry about that, Satty..."

He chuckled, then walked off and up the stairs.

Miku took one last look at the grave, before turning to follow him.

* * *

><p>Bis Bald<p>

BW


End file.
